• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.39-51
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of satisfaction among convalescent hospital staff members on patient safety and quality of care after the certification of the medical institution. Methods: A survey was conducted on seven convalescent hospitals in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, and North Jeolla Province, which were certified as medical institutions for convalescent hospitals by the end of May 2017, The study period lasted from July 24, 2017 to August 22, 2017. Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between staff member satisfaction and patient safety and quality of care (r = 0.586, p<0.001). Regression analysis showed that staff member satisfaction (${\beta}=0.531$, p<0.001) had a statistically significant effect on patient safety and quality of care and showed 46.9% explanatory power. Conclusions: The satisfaction of the convalescent hospital staff after the certification of the medical institution positively affected patient safety and quality of care.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.495-504
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• 2007

Objectives : This study attempts to show how studies using non-experimental data can strengthen causal inferences by applying propensity score and instrumental variable methods based on the counterfactual framework. For illustrative purposes, we examine the effect of having private health insurance on the probability of experiencing at least one hospital admission in the previous year. Methods : Using data from the 4th wave of the Korea Labor and Income Panel Study, we compared the results obtained using propensity score and instrumental variable methods with those from conventional logistic and linear regression models, respectively. Results : While conventional multiple regression analyses fail to identify the effect, the results estimated using propensity score and instrumental variable methods suggest that having private health insurance has positive and statistically significant effects on hospital admission. Conclusions : This study demonstrates that propensity score and instrumental variable methods provide potentially useful alternatives to conventional regression approaches in making causal inferences using non-experimental data.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the nutritional status and dietary behavior of adolescents from North Korean refugee (NKR) families residing in South Korea (SK), who are known to be at a higher risk of malnutrition due to their lower socioeconomic status and facing other psychological challenges. Methods: A total of 178 adolescents (91 males and 87 females) from NKR families were included in the analysis, and their demographic details such as age, birthplace, parental nationality, and duration of their settlement in SK were collected through questionnaires. Anthropometric measurements were also taken to determine their growth and nutritional status according to the 2017 Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents. The study used the Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) questionnaire to assess the dietary behavior of the participants. Results: Approximately 11.8% and 10.1% of participants were identified with malnutrition and obesity, respectively. The total mean score for the NQ-A was 50.1. The mean scores for the individual factors of balance, diversity, moderation, environment, and practice were 49.2, 44.7, 43.8, 51.2, and 61.5, respectively. Approximately 47.2% of participants had a low NQ-A grade. However, there was no significant difference in the NQ-A scores according to their nutritional status or duration of time in SK. Conclusions: Adolescents from NKR families exhibited both malnutrition and obesity. However, their dietary behavior, as assessed using the NQ-A, did not vary with their nutritional status. The unique challenges and related dietary behavior of North Korean adolescent refugees should be taken into consideration, when developing targeted strategies for nutritional education and health management programs.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.110-121
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• 2015

Competency-based medical education (CBME) is an outcome-oriented curriculum model for medical education that organizes learning activities and assessment methods according to defined competencies as the learning outcomes of a given curriculum. CBME emerged to address the accountability of medical education in response to growing concerns about the patient safety in North America in the 1970s, and the number of medical schools adopting CBME has dramatically increased since 1990. In Korea, CBME has been under consideration as an alternative curriculum model to reform medical education since 2006. The purpose of this paper is three-fold: (1) to review the literature on CBME to identify the challenges and benefits reported in North America, (2) to summarize the process and experiences of planning and implementing CBME at Inje University College of Medicine, and finally (3) to provide recommendations for Korean medical schools to be better prepared for the successful adoption of CBME. In conclusion, one of the key factors for successful CBME implementation in Korea is how well an individual school can modify the current curriculum and rearrange the existing resources in a way that will enhance students' competencies while maximizing the strengths of the school's existing curriculum.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.127-133
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• 2013

This study investigated the German experience in the transition to a unified health care system and suggests the following implications for Korea. First, Germany could have made use of the unification process better if there had been a good road map. Therefore Korea must develop a well prepared road map that considers all possible situations. Second, Germany saw an opportunity for the improvement of the health care system in the early stage of unification but could not take advantage of it because the situation changed dramatically and they had not sufficiently prepared for it. Korea should take into account the opportunity for improvement of the present health care system, such as the roles of public health and traditional medicine. Thirdly, the conditions f North Korea seem to be far worse than those of former East Germany and also worse than even those of other transition countries. Therefore Korea should design a long-term road map taking as many variables into account as possible, including the different rigid way of thinking and the interrelationship among the social sectors. Fourthly, during the German reunification unexpected factors changed the direction of the events. Korea should have a separate plan for the unexpected factors.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.386-387
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• 2001

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.571-580
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• 2012

Epidemiologic studies of air pollution need accurate exposure assessments at unmonitored locations. A land use regression (LUR) model has been used successfully for predicting traffic-related pollutants, although its application has been limited to Europe, North America, and a few Asian region. Therefore, we modeled traffic-related pollutants by LUR then examined whether LUR models could be constructed using a regulatory monitoring network in Metropolitan area in Korea. We used the annual-mean nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) in 2010 in the study area. Geographic variables that are considered to predict traffic-related pollutants were classified into four groups: road type, traffic intensity, land use, and elevation. Using geographical variables, we then constructed a model to predict the monitored levels of $NO_2$. The mean concentration of $NO_2$ was 30.71 ppb (standard deviation of 5.95) respectively. The final regression model for the $NO_2$ concentration included five independent variables. The LUR models resulted in $R^2$ of 0.59. The mean concentration of $NO_2$ of elementary schools was 34.04 ppb (standard deviation of 5.22) respectively. The present study showed that even if we used regulatory monitoring air quality data, we could estimate $NO_2$ moderately well. These analyses confirm the validity of land use regression modeling to assign exposures in epidemiological studies, and these models may be useful tools for assessing health effects of long-term exposure to traffic related pollution.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.492-531
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• 2020

This study is based on crane fly specimens collected from 1936-2019 and are in collections maintained at the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA; the Snow Entomological Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA; the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest, Hungary, and the National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, South Korea. The genus Dicranophragma Osten Sacken, 1860 with two species D. (Brachylimnophila) transitorium (Alexander, 1941) and D. (Dicranophragma) melaleucum melaleucum (Alexander, 1933), is a new record for the Korean Peninsula. New findings of Dicranomyia (Erostrata) submelas Kato et al., 2018, Dicranoptycha venosa Alexander, 1924a, Austrolimnophila (Archilimnophila) subunicoides(Alexander, 1950b), A. (A.) unica (Osten Sacken, 1869), A. (Austrolimnophila) asiatica (Alexander, 1925), Conosia irrorata (Wiedemann, 1828), Eloeophila persalsa (Alexander, 1940), E. serenensis (Alexander, 1940), E. subaprilina (Alexander, 1919), E. ussuriana ussuriana (Alexander, 1933), E. yezoensis (Alexander, 1924b), Paradelphomyia chosenica Alexander, 1950b, and P. macracantha Alexander, 1957 are discussed. General information on genera and subgenera morphological characters, redescriptions of species based on Korean specimens, illustrations of both sexes, elevation range, period of activity, habitat information, general distribution, and a distribution map for the Korean Peninsula (including North Korea) are presented for each species.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.48-67
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• 2006

The aim of the study was to examine levels of satisfaction with health care in North Korea and to identify factors associated with it using a convenience sample of North Korean refugees in China. Data from the 2004 Survey of Health Seeking Behavior of North Korean Households conducted by the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health were used. The study subjects were 273 North Korean refugees whose length of stay in China was less than 3 months. Factor analysis was used to extract factor dimensions from the 12 satisfaction items. Bivariate (t test and ANOVA) and multiple regression analyses were used in examining factors associated with satisfaction with health care use in North Korea Overall, satisfaction level was low ($2.36{\pm}0.36$, score range: 1-5). Of the three-factor dimensions, physician skills scored the highest $(2.93{\pm}0.36)$, followed by drug availability $(2.51{\pm}0.07)$ and general cleanliness $(1.66{\pm}0.55)$. In the multiple regression analysis, having a usual source of care was significantly associated with patient satisfaction. Respondents who identified primary care (section) doctors as their usual source of care tended to be less satisfied than those with the city or county hospital as their usual source of care. County residents tended to report a lower degree of satisfaction with general cleanliness than city residents. Among socioeconomic characteristics, the number of household assets positively predicted satisfaction with drug availability. North Korean residents appear to be dissatisfied with their medical care. It may reflect some inadequacies in the North's universal health care system to meet the healthcare needs of its people.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.sup1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2016

Background: This study aimed to develop the models for regional cardiac surgery centers, which take regional characteristics into consideration, as a policy measure that could alleviate the concentration of cardiac surgery in the metropolitan area and enhance the accessibility for patients who reside in the regions. Methods: To develop the models and set standards for the necessary personnel and facilities for the initial management plan, we held workshops, debates, and conference meetings with various experts. Results: After partitioning the plan into two parts (the operational autonomy and the functional comprehensiveness), three models were developed: the 'independent regional cardiac surgery center' model, the 'satellite cardiac surgery center within hospitals' model, and the 'extended cardiac surgery department within hospitals' model. Proposals on personnel and facility management for each of the models were also presented. A regional cardiac surgery center model that could be applied to each treatment area was proposed, which was developed based on the anticipated demand for cardiac surgery. The independent model or the satellite model was proposed for Chungcheong, Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, and South Gyeongsang area, where more than 500 cardiac surgeries are performed annually. The extended model was proposed as most effective for the Gangwon and Jeju area, where more than 200 cardiac surgeries are performed annually. Conclusion: The operation of regional cardiac surgery centers with high caliber professionals and quality resources such as optimal equipment and facility size, should enhance regional healthcare accessibility and the quality of cardiac surgery in South Korea.